Which SLO County city has highest property taxes? Where residents pay the most
How much do San Luis Obispo County residents pay in property taxes?
Rates can differ depending on where you live, based on various charges approved by voters for things like school bonds, infrastructure and water.
Homeowners pay property taxes twice a year, with rates based on the asset value of the owned home.
Here’s a look at how your property taxes compare to others in SLO County:
How do property taxes work?
Homeowners in SLO County pay property taxes at the county and city level.
County property taxes are paid by all homeowners in SLO County, while some charges are dependent on what area you live in.
The California State Board of Equalization designates official tax rate areas, districts within the county that have specific property taxes.
Some taxes only affect one tax rate area, while others can impact multiple sections of the county. This is because city specific property taxes are voter-approved local bonds that require a direct vote by the citizens in that area.
How were property taxes spent?
County residents paid more than $793 million in property taxes in the 2025-26 fiscal year, according to the SLO County Assessor’s annual report.
About 61% of that money went toward school districts, with more than $480 million allocated there.
About 24% — a little more than $192 million — went to the county General Fund.
General Fund money funds county departments including the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office and San Luis Obispo County Parks & Recreation, as well as fire, emergency services and child support services, according to the county’s budget.
Incorporated cities, redevelopment agencies and special districts also received money from annual property tax revenue, accounting for about 15%.
The assessor’s report provided the exact amount of money from property taxes that was divided among the government agencies, which added up to $793,174,665. This amount does not equal the exact amount of property taxes paid by homeowners.
The total money allocated to government agencies was $79,310 more than the total amount of property taxes collected, according to data provided by the county.
What are countywide property taxes am I paying for?
SLO County has multiple countywide property taxes.
Proposition 13, passed by California voters in 1978, “limits the tax on property to 1% of its taxable value, plus the rate necessary to pay off voter-approved bonds and indebtedness,” according to the Office of San Luis Obispo County Assessor Tom J. Bordonaro, Jr.
This established a base rate for property taxes in California.
Prop 13 prohibits both state and local governments from charging any new taxes that are based on your property value.
If you see a charge for the Sstate water bond on your property taxes, this is from the yearly water allocation from the State Water Project.
The State Water Project was approved by California voters in 1960. Voters had to then vote for their local water agency to participate in the project.
In 1963, the San Luis Obispo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District entered into an agreement with the California Department of Water Resources an annual state water allocation.
This added the state water bond tax rate to property taxes in SLO County.
What city property taxes am I paying for?
Property tax rates are a sum of the rates of bonds, leases, and projects.
Property tax rates can include rates from voter-approved local bonds including:
- State Water Project
- City bonds
- Unified/high school bond lease
- Improvement district or elementary school bonds
- Community colleges
- Special district bonds
Not all incorporated cities within the county charge all the sections.
City property taxes, also called voter-approved local bonds, can only be added to statements if a two-thirds majority of registered voters are in favor within the local jurisdiction, SLO County said.
What SLO County city has highest property taxes?
Out of the seven incorporated cities in SLO County, Grover Beach has the highest property tax rate, according to county records.
That’s because Grover Beach has several additional or higher bonds and leases compared to other cities, according to the San Luis Obispo County Property Tax Rates report for the 2025-26 fiscal year.
Property owners in only two incorporated cities in SLO County — Paso Robles and Grover Beach — have to pay for city bonds.
Grover Beach and Arroyo Grande are the only two cities that also have special district bonds as well.
Here’s how the Grover Beach property tax rate breaks down by type, with approximate amounts:
- Prop 13: 1%
- State Water Project: 0.003%
- City bond: 0.08%
- Unified/high school bond lease: 0.04%
- Improvement district/elementary school bond: 0%
- Community colleges: 0.015%
- Special district bond: 0.004%
In total, the property tax rate in Grover Beach was roughly 1.15% for the 2025-26 fiscal year.
Why are property taxes so high in Paso Robles?
Although Grover Beach has the highest property taxes by city, areas of Paso Robles have the highest property taxes by location.
Based on all tax rate areas within county limits, two areas in Paso Robles share the highest property tax rates in the county.
The majority of the tax rate areas in Paso Robles share a rate of 1.11%, which is the third-highest rate out of SLO County cities. But two areas in Paso Robles have a property tax rate of 1.17% in the 2025/26 fiscal year.
The two tax rate areas are situated on Highway 101 roughly between Marquita Avenue and the intersection of Highway 101 and Highway 46.
The area, which falls within Paso Robles city limits, is part of the Templeton Unified School District, not the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District.
This affects two sections of property tax rates.
Some areas that are a part of Templeton Unified School District have a unified/high school bond lease of about 0.12%, while Paso Robles Joint Unified has a rate of about 0.03%
Another difference within school districts is the improvement district/elementary bond. Templeton Unified does not charge for this section but Paso Robles Joint Unified does, at roughly .05%
These two sections cause the tax rate areas in this part of Paso Robles to differ from the main tax rate in the area.
